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Moldovan president accuses West of attempting to involve Chisinau in regional conflict

Igor Dodon said he has been a subject to aggressive attacks by the media, supported by western sponsors

CHISINAU, August 14. /TASS/. Moldavan President Igor Dodon has emphasized his determination to prevent the West from involving Chisinau in a regional conflict.

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Moldova’s president committed to strategic partnership with Russia

"Since I have been hampering the bellicose plans of some internal and external forces, I have been a subject to aggressive attacks by the media, supported by western sponsors," Dodon wrote on Facebook commenting on relations between Moldova, which is a neutral state, NATO and the United States. "But no one will succeed in intimidating me and forcing me to give up," the Moldavan president added.

He made this statement after visiting the Bulboaka training range, currently being modernized using the money allocated by the United State - a fact which has been causing concern to the Moldovan media. Reporters have pointed out that military facilities are being built only 20 kilometers away from the security zone, protected by Russian, Moldavan and Transnistrian peacekeepers, while the Moldavan parliament has been calling for boosting cooperation with NATO. Dodon, who believes it necessary to restore relations with Moscow, was confident that the hype was aimed against him.

At the same time, he pointed out that as president, he had tools to counter other branches of power. "If the government and the parliamentary majority, encouraged by foreign players, attempt to involve Moldova in a regional armed conflict, then I will have to take tough actions in order to ensure peace and national security. Together with the Moldavan people, we will make efforts to remove this government using every possible tool," Dodon said.

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The Moldavan president earlier slammed the West for allocating large amounts of money to the country’s media outlets and non-governmental organizations. He also confirmed his intention to prevent the adoption of initiatives that the parliament had been discussing, which could ban the broadcast of Russian TV news and TV shows based on political analysis. Dodon said that he would not approve this ban even under the threat of impeachment. The Moldavan president believes that parliament members, who enjoy the trust of about 20% of the country’s citizens, will not be able to impeach a president elected through a nationwide voting.

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